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The emerald ash borer, a pest that kills any unprotected ash tree it infiltrates, is causing problems in Indiana. One way to fight the problem is to use a pesticide called Tree-Age, which costs about $200 and is injected into the tree and protects it from the borer, says Greg Gilman, a pesticide-application-division manager. Protecting ash trees from the borer can be pricey, so Gilman recommends counting ash trees and then evaluating options.

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Pesticides such as "Tree-age" could protect ash trees from emerald ash borer beetles if applied before the infestation occurs, according to this article. Pesticides cost about $250 per tree every two years, which is cheaper than removing and replacing infested trees at a cost of $700 to $1,200. "There is no reason for a landscape ash tree to die from emerald ash borer anymore," said Deborah McCullough, an entomology and forestry professor at Michigan State University.

Lawn and garden products are expected to help boost quarterly earnings for home-improvement chains Home Depot and Lowe's Cos. Home-improvement projects that were put on hold because of the recession are now being completed, helping sales of fertilizer, potting soil and tools for gardens. Outdoor furniture and lawn mowers are also in demand. Outdoor power equipment has made double-digit dollar sales increases during the past year or so, according to a report by NPD Group.

U.S. ethanol production reached about 10.56 billion gallons in the past year, displacing about 364 million barrels of imported oil, according to an annual report by the Renewable Fuels Association. The U.S. raised its ethanol output in the past year by 1.37 billion gallons, with 19 plants coming into production, the group's report noted. U.S. ethanol now accounts for more than 50% of the world's total biofuel output, the report added.

Dave Rodger, general manager of John Deere's Waterloo, Iowa, operations, is retiring effective July 1. Rodger spent 35 years with Deere, the last 22 in Waterloo where he has been general manager since 2007. Rodger helped develop a new melt operation at the Waterloo Foundry, improved drivetrain operations at Westfield and was behind the installation of an ongoing reconfiguration of production lines and a new high-tech paint operation at the East Donald Street Tractor Works.

When employees make up excuses to get out of work, many bosses let them slide rather than pick ugly fights. That's a mistake, say some leadership experts, and it can foster a culture of rule-breaking and erode a company's productivity. "If it becomes OK to skirt the rules in little ways, it eventually becomes acceptable to skirt the rules in big ways, too," says Patricia Harned, president of the nonprofit Ethics Resource Center.